Celebrating the Rev. Jui-en Joseph Ho

For the last three months, the Rev. Jui-en Joseph Ho has served and celebrated at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Monterey Park, part of our exchange program with the Taiwan Episcopal Church. We’re sending a group of young adult missionaries this summer and are still looking for an Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles priest who would like to spend three months doing ministry in Taiwan.

Two weeks ago, Fr. Joseph’s spouse, Angel, and their children, Elizabeth, nine, and James, six, flew over for some sightseeing. Knowing they’d be headed to the Grand Canyon, I recommended that they take their time and enjoy the sights along route 66, including the Keepers of the Wild Nature Park in Valentine, Arizona. They also got in three days at Disneyland.

The family flies home at midnight tomorrow, after Palm Sunday services. On Friday afternoon, the devoted St. Gabriel’s priest in charge, the Rev. Canon Ada Wong-Nagata, organized an impromptu social hour at the parish for our visitors, the Rev. Dr. Fennie Hsin-Fen Chang, and me. We enjoyed photos and videos of their sightseeing and of Elizabeth’s virtuoso violin playing. We sent them home draped in Dodger blue.